How to Marry a Millionaire

• Directed by Jean Negulesco
• November 5, 1953 (US)
• Based on the plays The Greeks Had a Word for It (1930) by Zoe Akins and Loco (1946) by Dale Eunson and Katherine Albert

Three women set out to find eligible millionaires to marry but find true love instead.

The more I think about it the more I come to believe that How to Marry a Millionaire would not be done today. These are women looking to be married and get taken care of for the rest of their lives by rich men. It’s certainly not feminist in nature, but this is not a serious dramatic presentation. It’s a fun romcom that’s a little more fantasy than it is reality. And now onto the show…

This is filmed largely on sets. It’s covered in heavy pastels and soft tones. I don’t think anything is actually shot outside. It helps set the tone that this is more fantasy than reality. This is a dream of love and life.

How to Marry a Millionaire opens with an extended orchestra scene playing music. This is an early Cinemascope presentation and I guess showcasing the whole orchestra playing a medley of the film score was a marketing tactic but it gets kind of boring. Once we get past that and start getting to the story, things really pick up.

Each character fills a bit of a role. Schatze Page (Lauren Bacall) is the brains of the operation. She has schemed and plotted to create a situation where the trio will be in a position to marry rich men by signing a lease to a pricey apartment from a man in Europe on the run from the IRS. Betty Grable, justifiably famous for her legs, is Loco Dempsey who is the outsider of the group as indicated by a single line though you would be forgiven for forgetting that. She is a bit daft as they once said.

Marilyn Monroe rounds out the group as the well-meaning yet slightly naïve Pola Debevoise who recruited Loco. Monroe had fantastic comedic timing and solid acting skills. Pola seriously needs glasses to see but as part of her man catching plot she refuses to wear them because she feels they’ll be a turn off. Monroe communicates both comedically and nuanced that Pola can’t see squat. It is subtle and just indicative of her talent.

Cameron Mitchell was a bit of a surprise to me. I’m much more familiar with him in the later years of his career than how he was here in the beginning. I didn’t recognize him at first. His introduction was rather quick and came off as unimportant to the whole story. There is a certain energy and bounce to his performance. This was the Cameron Mitchell that became a star and if this Cameron Mitchell had continued, I think he would be a very well-remembered actor. 

As Tom Brookman, Mitchell is charming and energetic, but also cool and collected. There is an ease about his character and a natural energy that just made you root for the guy from the very start even if you thought he was just a one off player character. Cameron Mitchell makes it look so natural and easy and I just have no idea how he fell so far.

As a romcom, it’s a mix of misunderstandings and confusion that fuels the plot. And in my opinion, we get something edgy for the time where one married man is trying to make it with Betty Grable. No matter how much these characters try to force love and marriage they can’t. When it comes, it comes naturally. If there is one message, it’s that.

These fraudulent relationships prepare the characters for genuine love. They search and often find the perfect guy based on their plans but there isn’t that deeper personal connection that will make for a lasting relationship. That’s often the point here. Love is found in unexpected places and ways. They may be looking to marry a rich man, but love isn’t about money. It’s about finding that special person you click with. For a light comedy, there are some deeper themes in this.

The humor in this will make you smile up until the closing scene when we learn just how loaded Brookman is. Part of the gag is that the trio and their new spouses are convinced despite all things to the contrary that Brookman just pumps gas. That is the only truly uproarious moment.

If you’re looking for a good romcom, then How to Marry a Millionaire is an excellent choice. It has three classic Hollywood actresses giving stellar performances and a message that love cannot be forced but is rather found.